How to Create a "Book Addict"

I have been an avid reader since I was a young girl. Reading is one of my favorite past times. I believe one of the reasons I did well in school was because I read so much. When we adopted our son Jacob at two years old, I set out to turn him into a lover of books. We started by reading him board books for 10-15 minutes before nap time and bedtime. Then we progressed to picture books with more words once his attention span had grown and increased story time to 15-20 minutes twice a day. I bought a book called Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt as well as The Read Aloud Handbook and made lists of good books to look for at the library. I eventually discovered that our library had an on-line interlibrary loan program where I could sit at my computer at home and order books from all over our state and they would be delivered to our town library. This was like telling a kid in a candy store that she could have as much candy as she wanted. I started ordering up to 15 children's books at a time for Jacob. When I ran out of great book recommendations from Honey for a Child's Heart and The Read Aloud Handbook, I started looking for books on Amazon.com and reading book reviews trying to find the best books available. I created an Amazon.com wish list which grew and grew and I would use that as a reference when I ordered books via interlibrary loan. Jacob in the mean time was loving all these books and I enjoyed getting to read them almost as much as he did. He was learning so much from the books I had chosen and his father and I were learning lots of new things as well.

When Jacob was four years old, we started reading him short chapter books. The first book we read him was The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. We allowed Jacob to play with toys quietly on the floor while we read him a chapter or two out of this book at a time. The second chapter book we read him was Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. This book was a huge hit and it is the book I would recommend for boys as a first chapter book to read out loud. I have heard from friends that girls also really enjoy this book. At some point during this time we picked up The Magic Tree House audiobooks by Mary Pope Osborne. Well that was the beginning of The Magic Tree House addiction. Jacob wanted to listen to these audiobooks over and over again until he had them practically memorized. He still enjoys listening to "The Magic Tree House" books two years later and has listened to a countless number of additional audiobooks, chapter books read by us, and picture books. One of his favorite activities now at age six and a half is to play with his playmobil, legos, or knex while listening to an audiobook in his bedroom. We have successfully created a book addict and Jacob is progressing well with learning how to read on his own and likes to read simple stories to his sister.

We are now working on turning Rosa into a book addict as well using the method described above. She loves story time and the kids like to argue over who gets to pick which book we read first. My parents read stories to me as a child and my mother read us chapter books, usually on long car trips. I have very pleasant memories of being read to and I enjoy creating these memories for my own children as well.

Read Aloud Inspiration

Reading to your child is the best place to start fostering a love of learning. The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease is a wonderful resource for parents who want to share books with their children. It provides great motivation and encouragement by explaining why reading aloud to children is so important. There have been many studies on the benefits of reading aloud to children and the findings are really amazing and are included in this book. In addition, "The Read Aloud Handbook" provides a list of excellent book recommendations for different age groups.

I highly recommend this book because it really encouraged me to know the reasons why parents should make a habit of reading to their children. We all know how tedious it can be to read a child's favorite story for maybe the tenth, fiftieth, or even hundredth time. "The Read Aloud Handbook" shares the scientific reasons why young children want to hear their favorite stories over and over and just exactly how that benefits them. I know I used to find it quite a chore reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my son every single day but once I found out just how much this benefited him I was able to look at story time as a daily accomplishment I could be proud of. I might still have crumbs under the kitchen table at the end of the day but I had read my son his favorite story which was helping to promote his vocabulary acquisition, pre-reading skills, and cognitive development.

In addition to being inspiring, "The Read Aloud Handbook" provides lists of good books which are especially helpful when you go to purchase books that may be read over and over again or when you go to pick out books at the library. You certainly want the books you buy or borrow to be stories you and your child will both enjoy. This makes reading aloud much more enjoyable for all.